Loading device



Aug. 23, 1938. s. J. sTRlD Er AL 2,127,965

LOADING DEVICE Filed Sept. 20, 1934 s sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 23, 1.938. s.J. sTRlD Er Al. 2,127,965 I v LOADING `DFVIGE Filed Sept. 20', 1954 3sheets-Sheet 2 l i v 36 72 55 53 "'67 53 Y 5,7 l .L '3637 @Mentors I 357 35 Z Swen/JSM' ug. 23, 1938./ s. J. sT'RlD ET AL LOADING DEVICE FiledSept. 20, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 23, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE LOADING DEVICE Delaware Application September 20, 1934,Serial No. 744,812

16 Claims.

This invention rrelates to loading devices, and, more particularly, todevices for anchoring automobiles in conveyances during shipment.

One of the objects of the invention is the pro- 5 vision of new andimproved means for securing automobiles in freight cars, that arepermanently connected to the shipping conveyance and that are providedwith novel means for moving the parts to an inoperative position in thetop of the car when not in use. i

A further object of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmechanism for anchoring automobiles during shipment that is providedwith novel means for raising and lowering the mechanism and for causingthe automatic yfolding and unfolding of the parts during theraising andlowering operations, respectively.

A further object of the invention is the provision of new .and improvedmechanism for anchor- With novel means for moving the mechanism toinoperative position adjacent to the roof of the car by the manualoperation of a single device.

A further object of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmeans for anchoring the automobiles on the floor of a lrailway carloaded with automobiles, certain of which are semi-decked-that is,supported in an inclined position within the car.

Other objects of the invention are the provision of new and improvedmechanism for anchoring automobiles in a shipping conveyance that issimple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, which may beinstalled at a minimum of time and expense in the conventional freightcar,

efficient in use and that may be readily moved from operative toinoperative position, and vice versa.

Other and further objects and advantages of 40 the invention will appearfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a freight car showing the invention inposition therein, the car being shown more or less diagrarnmatically;`

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the broken line 3 3 of Fig. 10; v

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figs. 1 and 12;

Fig. 5 is a section Von the line 5 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 'I 'l of Fig. 12;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the outer end of one ing automobiles infreight cars that is provided of the supportingmembers showing theeXtension in folded position;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 12; Fig. 10 is a section onthe line I|l l of Fig. l2;

Fig. ll is a longitudinal section of a portion of the top of the car,showing the invention in` folded position; and

Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section of a portion of one end of the railwaycar showing the invention in operative position for anchoring twoautomobiles, the latter being shown in dotted lines.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference character I0 designates arailway car which is selected for illustrative purposes forv disclosinga shipping conveyance on which the anchoring mechanism is adapted to 'beemployed. The car illustrated is shown more or less diagrammatihavingthe side Walls Il and I2, the floor or bottom wall I3 and the roof ortop wall I4 (see Fig. l0). The side walls are provided with doors l5 andIB off-set from each other and from the transverse center line of thecar, as shown in Fig. 1 and 2. This type of car is selected because thearrangement of the doors facilitates `the placing of the automobiles inposition for shipment. In the form of construction shown, provision ismade for anchoring four automobiles within the car. The automobiles Iland i8 (see Fig. 1)` at the ends of the car are semi-decked-that is,they are supported in inclined position in order that ytwo otherautomobiles I9 and 2l may be positioned beneath the elevated endsthereof.

The number of automobiles that may be secured in a single freight carwill depend of course upon the length of the car, and upon the length ofthe automobiles being shipped. Since the arrangement of the automobileswithin the freight car is the same at both ends of the car, the

mechanism for anchoring the automobiles at one end'only of the car needbe described.`

Secured to each side of the car adjacent to carlines 22 is a plate 23which is provided with a pivot 24 (see Fig. l1) `that engages a slot 25in the upper end of a guide member 26 for pivotally connecting the guidemember to said plate. Each of the guide members 26 is provided with aguideway 21 which in theform of construction shown is a channel (seeFigs. 4-5) within which slides extending flanges 33 will form a supportfor an automobile and their vertical flanges 34 will form a guide forpreventing the automobile from moving laterally on the flanges 33 duringshipment. The laterally extending ilanges 33 may be and preferably areconnected together by spacers 35 that hold the supporting members 3| and32 in proper spaced relation.

In order to provide a sufcient clearance for the lower automobile 2|(see Fig. 12), the supporting members 3| and 32 are provided withprojections in the form of runners or slide members 36 which hold therear ends of the supporting members 3| and V32 above the floor of thecar the desired distance. The runners or slide members 36 are preferablypivotally connected to the supporting members 3| and 32 by pivotsextending longitudinally of the supporting members so that theseprojections may be turned laterally to inoperative position when theparts are stored in the top of the carl as will presently appear.

In order to prevent lateral movement of the runners on the floor of thecar, they are provided with pins 31 (see Fig. 1) which are adapted toengage guide slots 38 in the oor of the car. A metal guide 3.9 havingslots 38 therein is preferably embedded in the floor of the car foraccommodating the pins 31.

Suitable means are provided for anchoring the lower ends of the guidemembers 26 to the oor of the car. In the form of construction shown,which is by way of example only, the lower ends of each of these membershas rigidly attached thereto an anchor member 4| (see Fig. 3) having theupper flanges 42 and 43 and the lower anges 44 and 45 extendinglaterally therefrom. 'Ihe flanges 42 and 43 have along one edge theupstanding anges 46 and 41 which are provided with recesses 48 and 49.Spring-pressed bolts 5| and 52 extend downwardly through alignedopenings in the anges 42, 44, and 43, 45, respectively. Springs 53 areprovided between the flanges for normally projecting the bolts 5| and 52downwardly. The bolts 5| and 52 are provided with laterally extendingshanks or handles 55 and 56. respectively, which are adapted to beturned and seated in the recesses 48 and 49 for holding the bolts inretracted position. The lower ends of the bolts 5| and 52 are adapted toengage openings in the floor of the car, which in the form ofconstruction shown, are provided by the metal sockets 51 and 58, whichare secured in the floor of the car.

Suitable means are provided for anchoring the automobile I8 on thesupporting members 3| and 32. As shown, each supporting member isprovided adjacent its ends with eye members 59 and 6| to which theanchor chains 62 andV 63 are connected.

The chains are attached to the axles 64 and 65 of the car in the usualmanner. The chains 62 and 63 are each provided with the usual yieldingor spring link 66 which will permit a slight yielding movement tocompensate for sudden movement of the railway car incident to itsoperation.

The cars I9 and 2| are secured in position by the anchor chains 61 and68 (see Figs. 12 and 2) which are attached to the axles69 and 1| andextend diagonally outwardly to the anchor member 4| and are secured tothe flanges 12 and 13, respectively. They are so secured to the axlesthat they will not slide along the same, and.V being arrangeddiagonally, they will not only prevent movement of the automobilelongitudinally of the car, but they Will also prevent lateral movementrelative thereto.

The chains 61 and 68 are each provided with the conventional yieldinglink 14 for permitting slight movement of the automobile relative to thefreight car during bufng or other sudden movement of the freight carincident to its operation.

Appropriate means are provided for elevating the inner ends of thesupporting members 3| and 32 for elevating the inward end of theautomobile and for moving the parts to inoperative position. In the formof construction shown, the cables 15 and 16 (see Figs. 10 and 12) areemployed for this purpose. They are attached to the ends of thesupporting rod 29 and are trained over suitable pulleys 11 and 18 andwound on drums 19 and 8| (see Fig. 9), which are rigidly mounted on theshaft 82. The pulleys 11 and 18 are offset toward the end of the carfrom the pivots 24 for causing the folding of the guide members whenthey are released and the drums 19 and 8| are rotatable to tension thecables 15 and 16.

The shaft 82 is supported at the end of the car adjacent the roof and isadapted to be operated in any suitable manner. In the form ofconstruction shown, a worm and gear mechanism 83 is employed for thispurpose. The Worm is adapted to be turned by an endless chain 84 whichengages a sprocket on the worm shaft and which extends around an idlerpulley 85 secured to the end wall of the car.

In the operation of the device, assuming that the car is empty and thatit is desired to load the same, Athe supporting members 3| and 32 arelowered onto the iloor of the car, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 12,the automobile |8 is moved into position onto the supporting members andis anchored thereon by the chains 62 and 63. The drums 19 and 8| are nowoperated by the chain 84 through the Worm and gear mechanism 83 forelevating the inner ends of .A

these supporting members.

Since the inner ends of the supporting members are elevatedsubstantially vertically, it is necessary that the outer ends slidealong the floor. This movement is provided for by the slots 38. When theautomobile has been elevated to the required height, the rod 29 issecured to the guide members 26, thus relieving the strain on the cables15 and 16. As shown, this is accomplished by the use of U-bolts 86 (seeFig. 6) which are adapted to extend through suitable openings throughthe flanges of the guide members 26, and are held in position by thegravity latch 81. The worm gear 83 is non-reversible by the load so thatthe drums will be held in adjusted position for holding the supportingmembers elevated while the yU-bolts are being placed in position. Afterthe fU-bolts are applied the vrtension on cables 15 and 16 may bereleased. In

order to accommodate automobiles of Various heights, the anges of theguide members 26 may .be provided with a series of openings forreceiving the U-bolts 86 at various heights from the floor of the car.After the automobile 8 is placed in shipping position within the car,automobile 2| (see Fig. 12) is placed in position beneath the elevatedend of the car I8 and is anchored therein by the chain 61 and 68.

In unloading the automobiles, the operation is reversed. After the carhas been unloaded, the anchoring devices may be moved to inoperativeposition in the following manner: The drums 19 and 8| are operated bythe chain 84 for elevating the inner ends of the supports 3l and 32until the same come in contact with the roof of the car or platessecured beneath the same, after which the spring-pressed bolts 5I and 52are withdrawn and on further turning of the drums 19 and 8l, the guidemembers 26 will be elevated slightly to clear the floor and will becaused to swing upwardly until the whole construction is folded upagainst the roof of the car. The slots 25 in the upper ends of thesemembers permit this slight upward movement. As the support 3|, 32, moveupwardly their ends, to the left as viewed in Fig. l2, encounter theplate 40, whereupon the opposite ends of the supports are raised. Whenthe rod 29 reaches the upper end or the channels 21 the guide bars 26are swung to the rights, the movement continuing until these guides andthe support are folded together id come to rest immediately below theroof of the car, as shown in Fig. 1l.

The chains 61 and 68 are stored within the channels 21 and held thereinin any suitable manner.

In order to relieve the cables 15 and 'f6 from the strain of holding theparts in elevated position, one or more hooks 88 are provided in theroof of the car for engaging one or both of the supporting members forholding the device in elevated position. In order to prevent the runnersor slide members 36 from extending downwardly when in elevated positionin the car each is preferably provided with an extension 9i which isadapted to engage a projection 92 on the roof (see Figs. 12 and l1) whenthe parts are elevated for causing the same to fold in horizontalposition, as shown in Fig. 8.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings that the construction and operation of our devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details of construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:-

1. In a railway car, a pair of upright guide members having their upperends pivotally secured to said car, a pair of automobile supportingmembers, means for slidably connecting said guide and supporting memberstogether, means for elevating said members, extensions pivotally mountedon the outer ends of said supporting members for supporting the same onthe car floor and means for automatically folding said extensions whensaid members are elevated to inoperative position.

2. In a railway freight car having roof, licor, end and side walls, apair of guide members connected by a pin and slot connection to saidside walls adjacent to the roof, means for locking the lower ends ofsaid members to said oor, a pair of automobile supporting members, asupporting bar extending between and connected to the inner end portionsof said supporting members and slidable along said guide members, meansfor fastening said bar at a predetermined height on said guide membersfor supporting an automobile in an inclined position in said car, andmeans for holding said guide and supporting members and for moving thesame into inoperative position adjacent to the roof of said car.

3. In a shipping conveyance, a pair of guide members pivoted at theirupper ends, means for able along said members, means for securing saidbar in elevated position on said members, a pair of angle bars havingtheir inner end portions connected to supporting bars, said bars eachhaving o-ne ange extending laterally for supporting the wheels of anautomobile during shipment, and its other ange extending upwardly forpreventing lateral movement of said automobile, and means comprisingwinding drums and cables secured to said supporting bar and drums forelevating the inner ends of said angle bars and an automobile thereonand for moving said members and supports to a horizontal position in theupper portion of said conveyance.

4. In a railway car having a roof, a floor, end and side walls and adoor in each side wall, said doors being off-set relative to each other,the combination of a pair of guide members extending upwardly alongsidesaid walls, means including a pin and slot connection for pivotallyconnecting the upper ends of said members to said car adjacent to saidroof, fittings for securing the lower ends of said members to the floorof said car, a supporting bar slidable along said members, supportingelements connected to said bar, slotted guide members secured in thefloor of said car adjacent to each end thereof, means on the ends ofsaid elements engaging the slots in said guide members, means forraising and lowering said bars, means for securing an automobile on saidelements at each end of said car, and means for securing the front andrear portions of an automobile to said ttings for positioning samebeneath the inner ends of said elements at each end of said car.

5. In a railway car, a pair of channel irons pivotally secured to theside walls of said car by a pin and slot connection for moving in a oversaid pulleys and secured to said drums and means non-reversible. by theload for raising and lowering said element.

6. A loading device comprising a pair' of guide members spaced apart,means for pivotally connecting said members to the walls of a railwaycar, whereby the same may be moved to inoperative position adjacent tothe roof of the car, saidy members having grooves in their inner faces,a supporting bar having its ends slidably engaging said grooves, a pairof automobile supporting members connected to said bar adjacent to theirinner ends and means for elevating said bar along said grooves.

'7. In a freight car, mechanism for anchoring a plurality of carstherein comprising a pair of uprights, ttings on the lower ends thereoffor securing the same to the floor of a car, supporting members, meansfor securing the inner ends of said members to said uprights in elevatedposition, means on said members for securing an automobile thereon, anautomobile beneath the inner ends of said members, and means extendingdiagonally from said ttings to the front and rear of said automobile andsecured 'thereto for Vanchoring said last-named Vautomobile on the iioorof said car.

8. A loading device for use in a railway freight car, comprising a pairof upright guide members movable in planes longitudinally of said car,means for movably connecting the upper end portions of said members tothe inner side portions of said car, means for rigidly connecting thelower ends of said members to said conveyance, car supporting meansmovably connected to said members and means for folding said members andcar supporting means beneath the roof of said conveyance above the floorthereof.

9. In a railway car, a guide member extending upwardly within said carat each side thereof, means for movably connecting the upper endportions of said members to said car, a pair of supports, means forslidingly connecting intermediate portions of said supports to saidguide members, flexible members for elevating the inner ends of saidsupports, means for winding up said flexible members for folding saidsupports and members against the underside of the roof of said car, andmeans for engaging the inner ends of said supports during the windingoperation for limiting the upward movement of the inner ends of saidsupports.

10. In a railway car, a guide member extending upwardly within said carat each side thereof, means for movably connecting the upper endportions of said members to said car, a pair of supports, means forslidably connecting intermediate portions of said supports to said guidemembers, flexible members for elevating the inner ends of said supports,and means for winding up said flexible members for folding said supportsand members against the underside of the roof of said car.

11. An anchoring device for securing automobiles in cars for shipmentcomprising, in combination, a pair of guide bars, means for pivotallyconnecting the upper ends of the bars to the walls of a car at oppositesides thereof, means for detachably securing the bars in uprightposition, a pair of automobile supporting members, means for pivotallyand slidingly connecting such members to the guide bars, and pull cablesfor raising the supporting members and swinging the guide bars.

12.` Means for securing an automobile in freight cars comprising, incombination, a pair of guide bars` adapted for pivotal attachment attheir upper ends to the side walls of a car, a pair of supports for anautomobile, means for pivotally and slidably connecting said supports atone of their ends to said bars and vertically movable longitudinallythereof, limiting stops on the bars for arresting the upward movement ofthe supports, and means for raising the bar engaging ends of thesupports, such means acting in a direction oblique yto the vertical.

13. Means for securing road vehicles in freight cars comprising, incombination, a pair of guide bars adapted for pivotal attachment to theside walls of a car, a pair of vehicle supports, means for slidably andpivotally connecting said supports adjacent to one of their ends to thebars, means for limiting the upward movement of the supports relativelyto the bars, and means for applying lifting force to the supports, suchforce acting out of the longitudinal plane of the bars.

14. An anchoring device for securing automobiles in freight cars duringshipment comprising a pair of vertically arranged guide members, meansfor pivotally connecting the upper ends of the same to the side wall ofa railway car, meansA for detachably securing the lower ends of saidguide members in lowered position, a pair of supporting members, asupporting rod secured to said supporting members and slidably connectedto said guide members, a cable secured to each .v

end portion of said supporting rod, and means for tensioning said cablesfor elevating said guide members and supporting members to elevatedposition when said second-named means are released.

15. In a vehicle provided with side, end, top and bottom walls, a guidemember secured to each side wall, a pair of automobile supportingmembers, pivoted runners on the outer ends of said supporting membersadapted to engage the floor for supporting the outer ends of thesupporting members, a supporting rod attached to the inner ends of saidsupporting members, said rod sli-dably engaging said guide members, drummeans at one end of the car adjacent the top wall thereof, cablesconnected lto said means and rod, a worm gear for operating said means,and means for manually operating said gear.

16. In a device for supporting automobiles in a freight car duringshipment, an anchoring member having a body portion, flange membersextending laterally outwardly from said body portion, a supportingstandard rigidly connected to said flanges and extending upwardlytherefrom, spring pressed latch bolts extending through said flanges,means for holding said bolt in retracted position, and anchoring chainsconnected to said flanges.

SVEN J. STRID. STEADMAN O. TAYLOR.

` the same may conform to the record of the ca CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION.

Patent No, 2,127,965., August 25, 1958.

SVEN J. STRID, ET AL,

ylt is hereby certified "that error appears in the printed specificationof the above-numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5,first column, line Tl-72, claim 2, for the word uholding" read folding;and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that se inthe Patent Office..

signed and Sealed this mm day of October, A, D. 1958.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.,

